On the FIFA website there is a countdown showing that there are 132 days left until the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In this pinnacle tournament of world soccer, the United States will open competition on June 12th in South Africa, against England. This highly anticipated match is just one part of what will be a semester’s worth of work devoted specifically to world soccer.
The History and Political Economy of World Soccer is a course that is being co-taught by Pitzer professors, Andre Wakefield and Nigel Boyle. Taught only once every four years (conveniently preceding each World Cup), this course has 145 students enrolled plus another 15 auditors. This Pitzer course is so large that Professors Boyle and Wakefield had to schedule class sessions at Pickford Auditorium, a CMC facility. On the first day of class, Professor Boyle stated that Claremont College students actually pay for a lot more than what they would be getting in this course. He was, of course, referring to the logistics of having such a large number of people enrolled, and not necessarily the content. As students, Boyle implied, we choose to attend these colleges for the small intimate seminar style courses that allow for dialogue and discussion rather than purely lectures and exams, which is how this course is designed. If Professor Boyle thought that that would make students think twice about staying in the course, he was wrong. Every Tuesday and Thursday, 165 people show up to Pickford to hear Professor Boyle and Professor Wakefield lecture… about soccer. Well, the history and political economy of world soccer… to be more specific.
For those of you that are not familiar with the two men teaching the class, Professor Nigel Boyle and Professor Andre Wakefield are two soccer fanatics. Both men played soccer at the collegiate level, although Boyle points out that playing for a collegiate team in England is not the same as playing at the collegiate level in the United States. Wakefield explained that the idea of this course actually was born out of a conversation that took place on a soccer field, when the two professors played together on a local team that consisted of other Claremont College faculty. Everything else seems to be history.
Other than the fact that this class is taught only once every four years, this course attracts students for a variety of other reasons. The last time the course was taught was in 2006, when Boyle and Wakefield managed to have former Los Angeles Galaxy Head Coach, Steve Sampson, visit Pitzer’s campus as a guest speaker. So far this semester, there has already been a class field trip, where 56 students signed up and attended the USA vs. Honduras Men’s soccer match, on January 23rd. The United States lost the match 3-1. Sports culture is a huge part of our everyday lives. And futbol is a culture in and of itself. Perhaps this is one of the reasons this course has so much popularity.
Another unique characteristic about this course is that it is being co-taught. Over the past few years, more Pitzer courses have been offered as courses taught by two or more professors. This semester there are twelve courses at Pitzer that are being co-taught, and there are over thirty co-taught courses listed in this year’s course catalog. I imagine that soon, the majority of Pitzer professors will have taught at least one course with a fellow professor.
Because of the set-up of this course, Boyle and Wakefield typically take turns lecturing. Today’s session centered on why soccer spread around the world, when baseball did not. Wakefield led the lecture. Co-taught courses, like this one, enable students to gain two different perspectives from professors who are often from entirely different fields. This particular course brings together Political Studies and History.
Who could have ever imagined that a course about soccer could tie in ideas of race, class, gender, globalization, industrialization, popular culture, identity, etc.? Before attending Pitzer, I never would have imagined it possible. But after four years, I am not surprised to see two professors team up to teach a course that is not only relevant, but also engaging and thought provoking. This course challenges students to examine the interconnectedness of cultural icons, such as the soccer ball, and how they have contributed to the shaping of nations and (inter)national culture. Where else, besides Claremont, could you find such a course?
Brittany Davila is a senior at Pitzer College, majoring in Gender and Feminist Studies and minoring in English. She works at the Office of College Advancement and is actively involved in the Senior Class Committee. In her spare time she enjoys reading, especially books about vampires.
“Who could have ever imagined that a course about soccer could tie in ideas of race, class, gender, globalization, industrialization, popular culture, identity, etc.? Before attending Pitzer, I never would have imagined it possible. But after four years, I am not surprised to see two professors team up to teach a course that is not only relevant, but also engaging and thought provoking.”
Not to mention useless and a complete waste of your education! Try studying politics and history from the greatest minds, not from these kooks.
“Where else, besides Claremont, could you find such a course?”
Any hippie teach-in.
@Trollolz: Those “kooks” have Ph.D’s from the UChicago and Duke, and they’re teaching about the single most popular sport on this planet. Hundreds of millions of people have played soccer in some kind of organized fashion. People stake their personal identities on their home team and the outcome of a soccer match can have a huge impact on international affairs. How are you even questioning this?
LOLZ is right.
But you are free to waste your precious time at Claremont in any way you like, Amy. It’s your life. Just don’t complain when, after 4 years of lightweight academic fluff like “The History and Political Economy of World Soccer”, the career office can’t even find you a job as a greeter at WalMart.
“But you are free to waste your precious time at Claremont in any way you like, Amy. It’s your life.”
Alan, you too are free to waste your precious time in Canada mocking students in Claremont. It’s your life. But you should get a better one.
Grow up, Sam.
Unless I’m mistaken, this is meant to be a forum for the exchange of well- considered opinion and intelligent thought. Sadly, yet typically, you are offering neither.
If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
A troll’s a troll. Grow up, ‘alan.’
“Sam”, “Max”, whomever:
It’s abundantly clear that the length and quality of your inane ad hominem responses are in direct proportion to your mental temper and your ability to engage in intelligent discourse.
That is to say, painfully short and sadly nonexistent.
Do us all a favour and either stand up for your convictions and beliefs by defending and/or promoting them in a respectful manner – or go back to playing World of Warcraft.
“How are you even questioning this?”
I’m a History and Politics major and see absolutely no value in ‘a course about soccer [that] could tie in ideas of race, class, gender, globalization, industrialization, popular culture, identity.’ Pitzer can teach anything if it has the words race, class, and gender; and Soccer is the current drug of choice.
I’m not in the class and my career prospects are pretty good. Anyway, apparently it’s called “History and Political Economy of World Soccer”, not “Soccer, Race, Kittens, Class, Grass, and Gender”.
http://tinyurl.com/pzsoccer
You left out this conclusion to the testimonial, Amy:
“After taking this class, a madhouse of joy grounded in the often brutal reality of soccer’s role in political and historical systems, I understood that I could take my passion and use it to mold my future; applying for a Watson Fellowship with a soccer focus, working towards soccer journalism, and living unabashedly as a soccer fanatic.”
I will readily concede that if your goal in life is to become a soccer journalist — or, to inyourface’s point below a sports marketing or merchandizing expert — this course might prove helpful in some way. That narrow career bandwidth notwithstanding, for those wishing to receive a liberal arts education in the classical sense there are surely countless other courses that would be of greater academic value.
Put another way, for sincere seekers of knowledge there is plenty to learn in this life, and not much time in which to do so. Any good nutritionist would suggest that when you get your turn at the buffet — hungry and with empty plate in-hand — it is better to get a good sampling of nourishing proteins under your belt before you head over for the sweet and tasty empty calories of the chocolate éclairs.
I agree with you Amy.
I understand everyone has their own opinions however I think this class will offer what others don’t. It is not a typical history class that teaches you the fundamentals and tells you “history is repeating itself and we don’t learn from our history and until we do we are screwed.” I think this class has a great structure and is able to help students and others on the fact that sports is a greater part of this world. Sports help people escape their everyday lives and have a great impact in everything and a majority of a country’s money comes from sports. Look at all the advertising and people from other countries that are fans of the LA Galaxy, Chicago Bulls, Lakers, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Chivas, etc. Those people buy jerseys, souvenirs with their favorite team labeled on it. All of that is bringing in money and there has to be contracts with other countries to be able to sell it there or here or wherever. Sports brings people of different backgrounds together and it is something phenomenal because you meet people that you would have never met in your life if it wasn’t for the love of the game.